Aimoré
The Aimoré (Aymore, Aimboré) are one of several South American peoples of eastern Brazil called Botocudo in Portuguese (from botoque, a plug), in allusion to the wooden disks or tembetás worn in their lips and ears. Some called themselves Nac-nanuk or Nac-poruk, meaning "sons of the soil". The last Aimoré group to retain their language is the Krenak. The other peoples called Botocudo were the Xokleng and Xeta.
Illustration of Botocudos, wearing tembeiteras or lower lip disks | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 350 (2010) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Brazil (Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, São Paulo) | |
| Languages | |
| Krenak | |
| Religion | |
| Animism |
The Brazilian chief who was presented to King Henry VIII in 1532 wore small bones hung from his cheeks and from the lower lip a semi-precious stone the size of a pea. These were the marks of great bravery. When the Portuguese adventurer Vasco Fernando Coutinho reached the east coast of Brazil in 1535, he erected a fort at the head of Espírito Santo Bay to defend himself against the Aimorés and other tribes.